Clinton, Jiang Agree To Reopen Trade Negotiations

U.s., China Envoys Will Talk When Asia Summit Opens

September 12, 1999|By Naftali Bendavid, Tribune Staff Writer.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Hoping to end a stretch of unusual hostility between their two nations, President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin agreed Saturday to move immediately to rekindle trade negotiations that had collapsed after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia.

As a result of a one-hour Clinton-Jiang meeting, U.S. and Chinese representatives are scheduled to begin discussions as early as Sunday aimed at bringing China into the World Trade Organization by the end of the year, in effect integrating the world's largest nation into the global economic system.

American officials were quick to portray the session between the two leaders, which covered everything from China-Taiwan tensions to the status of various nuclear treaties, as a breakthrough and an effective end to an extremely rocky four months between the United States and China.

"I would describe it as a very productive, friendly, non-polemical and quite comprehensive meeting between the two leaders," said National Security Adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger. "As a result, I would consider the relationship between our two countries back on track."

Notably, the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy during the campaign in Kosovo, which the U.S. has repeatedly said was a mistake but which outraged the Chinese, was mentioned only once in passing. Another issue that has dogged U.S.-China relations, espionage allegations against the Chinese, did not even come up.

The Clinton-Jiang meeting was a prelude to a two-day Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Auckland. The rampage by militias in East Timor, which erupted after it voted for independence from Indonesia, continued to hang over this conference of 20 national leaders whose ostensible purpose is to discuss economic issues.

Clinton accused the Indonesian military of aiding the violence in East Timor and all but predicted that Indonesia would soon permit a United Nations force to enter East Timor and end the violence.

"I think we're making headway," Clinton said. "I think you'll see a development here in the next couple days. I think something will happen. I'll be surprised if it doesn't. . . . People all over the world are working very hard on it."

But Berger seemed to back off that prediction, saying it was based not on the situation in East Timor but on recent conciliatory statements by Indonesian leaders.

"The statements, the public statements, are useful, but we've also heard them before," Berger said. "Until I see them either take control of the situation or allow an international force, I don't think it's a breakthrough."

Meanwhile Saturday, the United States suspended all arms sales to Indonesia. That included $40 million in government sales and $400 million in private sales, though some of the private transactions may be too far along to stop.

Clinton plans to take advantage of the APEC meeting to rally his fellow leaders to urge Indonesia to let in an international force. He meets Monday with Jose Ramos-Horta, a prominent East Timor independence activist who is at the APEC meeting to seek support for his cause.

Clinton did not have time to discuss East Timor with Jiang, though he may do so before the summit concludes Monday.

The United States and China are emerging from a rough period that was worsened by the embassy bombing, which came amid allegations by some in the U.S. that China was stealing nuclear secrets and illegally contributing to Democratic campaigns.

The catalyst for the apparent thaw comes from the fact that both Jiang and Clinton want China to join the World Trade Organization. WTO members work for open markets, pledge to abide by certain rules, and sign on to a mechanism for resolving trade disputes.

The issue of China's membership derives some urgency from the fact that the group is meeting this November in Seattle to kick off the next round of negotiations on the global trade treaty known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT.

Many members of Congress oppose normalizing trade with China because of its human-rights record. But Clinton's national economic adviser, Gene Sperling, said Clinton is prepared to fight on the issue. "There is no doubt that it will not be an easy battle," Sperling said. "No one expects that. But the president is very committed to taking whatever efforts are necessary."

Jiang told Clinton that the most important issue on the table was the current flareup between China and Taiwan. Clinton repeated to Jiang that if China uses military force against Taiwan, there would be grave consequences in the United States, U.S. officials said. The Clinton administration has repeatedly refused to say what "grave consequences" means.

Jiang, in the account of U.S. officials, responded, "You know, I am not someone who likes war, but 1.2 billion Chinese people are concerned about what has happened in Taiwan, and I believe it is very important to resolve the issue."

The two leaders also discussed the various nuclear treaties pending between them, stability in the Korean peninsula, and human rights and environmental issues.

Since the Chinese Embassy bombing in May, the Clinton administration has been working to restore a relationship with China that allows the two countries to work together in areas where their goals coincide--and at least talk about those where they differ.

"This is a complex relationship between the most powerful country in the world and the largest country in the world, who have fundamentally different systems and serious disagreements but who need to try to work through those for their common interests," Berger said.